Peter Kaukonen
Band members Related acts
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line up 1 (1972) as Peter Kaukonen - Peter Kaukonen (aka Benson Lee Kaukonen) -- vocals, guitar,
backing musicians (1972) - Terry Adams -- cello - Nick Buck -- keyboards - Joey Covington -- drums, percussion, backing vocals - Diane Earl -- backing vocals - Peter Marshall -- bass - Mark Ryan -- bass - Shelley Silverman -- drums, percussion - Larry Weisberg (aka Larry "Fuzzy" Knight) -- bass
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- Petrus
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Genre: rock Rating: **** (4 stars) Title: Black Kangaroo Company: Grunt Catalog: FTR
1006 Country/State: San Francisco, California Grade (cover/record): VG+/VG+ Comments: gatefold sleeve Available: 1 Catalog ID: -- Price: $25.00
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For all his talent singer/guitarist Peter Kaukonen remains best known as the younger brother of The Jefferson Airplane and Hot Tuna guitarist Jorma Kaukonen.
By the time her graduated from Stanford University in the mid-'60s Kaukonen was actively playing guitar in the band The Acid Grapefruit and on the San Francisco "scene". He recorded material with Ruthann Friedman in the band Petrus and played slew of acts including Johnny Winter By the early 1970s he'd played on a number of Airplane/Starship LPs, as well as spin-off projects by various Airplane/Starship members.
In
1972 Kaukonen formed the San Francisco-based trio Black Kangaroo (the name
came to him in a dream while still a student at Stanford - convoluted story,
but basically a black k
Was this album going to change your life? Nah. but it's one of the best albums to be released by Grunt, beats the crap out of most of the Jefferson Starship catalog and is more fun to listen to than most of the Hot Tuna catalog.
"Black Kangaroo" track listing: 1.) Up or Down (Peter Kaukonen) - 3:47 rating: **** stars Geez, the first time I played this album and heard the opening rocker "Up or Down" I remember wondering if I'd put on a Jimi Hendrix album by mistake. Powered by Kaukonen's best Hendrix vocal impression and some equally impressive guitar, the resemblances were undeniable. And unlike a lot of acts that were influenced by Hendrix, Kaukonen and company brought the goods to this enthusiastic rocker. Grunt released the track as the album's second promotional single:
- 1972's "Up or Down" b/w "That's a Good Question" (Grunt catalog number 65-0510)
Kaukonen's hardcore fans will also want to hear The Jefferson Airplane's earlier version of the song. The band recorded the song during their 1970 "Bark" sessions, but for some reason it didn't make the final track list. With the late Marty Balin on lead vocals, the tune finally appeared on the 1974 "Early Flight" compilation (Grunt catalog number CYL1-0437). (Peter's version is far better than The Airplane take.)
2.) Postcard (Peter Kaukonen) - 5:14 rating: **** stars A sweet, breezy and slightly lysergic ballad, "Postcard" has always reminded me of something out of the Merrell Fankhauser catalog. There was a distinctive West Coast "hippie" vibe on this one. Surprising it wasn't tapped as a single given it was one of the album's catchiest performances. 3.) What We All Know and Love (Peter Kaukonen) - 4:52 rating: **** stars Kaukonen's opening guitar licks are as sticky as a spoonful of honey. From there the song flowed into an awesome Hendrix-styled jam showcasing Kaukonen's first rate lead guitar and Covington's awesome drumming. What an unexpected surprise and one of the album highlights. 4.) Billy's Tune (Peter Kaukonen) - 4:55 rating: **** stars "Billy's Tune" sported one of the album's most haunting melody couple with some truly bizarre treated speak/sing vocals ("And the meek will inherit - the whole earth - for what it's worth". Once again Kaukonen's psych-tinged guitar coupled with Covington's drumming could easily have been mistaken for something off a Hendrix album. Here are Kaukonen's comments on the tune: "I still like “Billy’s Tune” musically and lyrically and sonically, plus it’s unusual in that it’s a “spoken word” piece … and yes, it shows how much I was impressed (which means “influenced”) by Hendrix’ “1983… (A Merman I Should Turn to Be)” from Electric Ladyland … I’m not saying I took it note for note but there are … ahem … similarities …" Recorded by the Peter Kaukonen Trio (Kaukonen with support from bass player Michael Lindner and drummer Tim Gahagan) at Larkspar, California's Lark Theater, YouTube has a September 2007 performance of the song: Peter Kaukonen Trio Billy's Tune Lark Theater 9/29/07
(side
2) If you've ever heard any of brother Jorma's Hot Tuna blues catalog, then "Barking Dog Blues" is going to ring a bell. Unfortunately I'm not a big fan of the genre so this one did nothing for me and the Kristi Noem-styled "shooting the dog" lyrics weren't going to win him many fans. Kaukonen's memories of the track: "Well, I wanted to play some blues, and so I did …" 2.) Dynamo Snackbar (Peter Kaukonen) - 3:56 rating: **** stars "Dynamo Snackbar" was another nifty Hendrix-influenced blues-rocker with some of the album's weirdest lyrics ("I can taste that octopus sauce now ..."). After you got through the opening string-of-conscious lyrics the track displayed Kaukonen surprisingly rich voice. The song also appeared as the "B" side on Kaukonen's "Prisoner" 45. 3.) Prisoner (Peter Kaukonen) - 4:54 rating: *** stars Showcasing Kaukonen's guitar finesse, "Prisoner" was another Hendrix-styled rocker. This time around Diane Earl's shrill backing vocals didn't do the song any favors. Odd choice as the album's first single:
- 1972's "Prisoner" b/w "Dynamo Snackbar" (Grunt catalog number single 65-0507) 4.) That's a Good Question (Peter Kaukonen) (instrumental) - 5:08 rating: *** stars Perhaps the album's prettiest tune, "That's a Good Question" closed the album with another unexpected musical twist. The track was a wonderful showcase for Kaukonen's talents on acoustic guitar (with support from Terry Adams on cello). The song also appeared as the "B" side on his "Up or Down" single. Kaukonen briefly mentioned the song in his interview with Brenikar: "I wrote “That’s a Good Question” in 1967; I’d been experimenting with tunings … “Question” has as much emotional significance and meaning for me now as it had then—it wears well and I’ve played it pretty much the same way for over fifty years … I recorded it on Black Kangaroo in 1972 and re-recorded it on my "Crazy Quilt" CD, from 2018 ..." YouTube has a clip of Kaukonen's performing the song at the November 2007 Larkspar, California's Lark Theater appearance: Peter Kaukonen - That's a Good Question - YouTube
Sent on the road to promote the album, Kaukonen recruited drummer Jimmy Hillen and bassist Michael Lindner for touring support.
Over the years, with different line-ups, Kaukonen's reactivate the Black Kangaroo nameplate to play local clubs and events but they've never recorded more material
As noted above, in May 2020 Kaukonen did an extensive interview with Klemen Breznikar for the It's Psychedelic Baby online magazine: Peter Kaukonen interview - It's Psychedelic Baby Magazine
Kaukonen also has a small website at: https://peterkaukonen.com/
© Scott R. Blackerby January, 2026
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angaroo
protected Kaukoken from fellow students that weren't thrilled with his long
hair, or political and social leanings). The band
gained some traction on the local club scene eventually signing a recording contract
with The Airplane's RCA affiliated Grunt label.
By the time an album was released Black Kangaroo was history; the resulting
album credited as a Kaukonen solo effort entitled "Black Kangaroo".
Co-produced by Kaukonen and Jaime 'Houndhead' Howell the album featured a
mix of friends and local players including former Airplane drummer Joey Covington
and CSN&Y bassist based Larry Weisberg (aka Larry "Fuzzy"
Knight). Based on
Kaukonen's musical background and family connections I was expecting to hear
something in the West Coast psych vein - perhaps some pseudo-Airplane
moves. And while there were clearly some San Francisco influences in
the mix. the predominant influence was Hendrix-styled psych rock. Hendrix wannabes are a dime-a-dozen, but Kaukonen's
Hendrix-influenced numbers were more than imitation. Tracks like the
opener "Up or Down", "What We All Know And Love",
"Dynamo Snackbar" and "Prisoner" were energetic, nicely highlighting
his nifty voice and first rate electric guitar. To be clear, the album
offered up more than Hendrix tributes. "Barking Dog
Blues" reflected a bit of brother Jorma's blues influences via Hot
Tune. The lysergic tinged ballad "Postcard"
and pretty acoustic instrumental "That's a Good Question" provided
two of the album highlights. 
